Million-dollar bond for Cary arson suspect

Police arrested a Cary man Friday after he allegedly started a fire in the crawl space of a home.

Police say a homeowner heard a noise in his backyard and went to investigate. Shortly after that, he called the police around 11:44 p.m.Thursday.

When officers arrived at the home on Gwinnett Place, they spotted 28-year-old Michael Joseph Malafronte standing beside the home. And after a short foot chase, officers caught him. That's when they noticed smoke coming from the crawl space of the home and extinguished it.

The fire did not cause any structural damage to the home.

Malafronte is charged with two counts of first-degree burglary and first-degree arson. One of the burglary charges is for a stolen bicycle officers say Malafronte had when they caught him.

Police say the bike was stolen from another home in the neighborhood on March 26.